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Tips for Editing Your Manuscript Before it Meets an Editor's Eyes
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TIP 1
Look for adverbs. Eliminating words that usually end in "ly" will make your writing
stronger. You can find these by using the find function in Word. A few adverbs are fine,
but replace as many as you can.
Examples:
 She ran quickly to the phone. Better: She ran to the phone.
 He talked loudly at the cashier. Better: He shouted at the cashier.
 Children, you should whisper quietly in the library. Better: Children, you should
whisper in the library.
TIP 2
Look for passive voice. This sometimes takes the form of a "be" verb combined with a
word that ends in "ing." The "be" verb often changes the order of the sentence so the
noun doing the action is after, rather than in front of the verb. It sometimes means the
noun doing the action isn't in the sentence, or it isn't clear to the reader.
Examples:
 Jenny will be attending the party on Saturday. Better: Jenny will attend the
party on Saturday.

It was determined by the board of directors that I should have a raise. Better:
The board of directors determined I should have a raise.
In this example we made the voice more active by putting the group that did the
action first and we dropped the "was." Also, we dropped the word "that."

We were invited to go on the trip with the club members. Better: The club
members invited us to go on the trip.

George says the team will be given a presentation about the project on
Thursday. Better: George says he will give a presentation about the project to
the team on Thursday.
TIP 3
Paste several paragraphs into a free program like Autocrit (http://www.autocrit.com/)
or something similar to analyze your work. The analysis of a few paragraphs could point
out writing habits that you can correct throughout your manuscript. It may also call
attention to the overuse of a particular word.
Compiled by Michelle Rayburn for Life Sentence Publishing, Inc. and Aneko Press © 2015
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TIP 4
Read paragraphs aloud and listen for variation in sentence length. If they all read the
same, sounding like the rhythm of a song or a poem, work on adjusting the length on
several.
 Combine some sentences into longer compound ones.
 Cut some sentences in half to make shorter ones.
TIP 5
Look for filler words to eliminate. Examples: really, just, some, that, then. Use the find
feature in Word to find them, and consider if they are necessary.
Examples:
 Jake is really funny. Better: Jake is hilarious.
 If I could just find my glasses, then I would be really happy. Better: I would be
ecstatic if I could find my glasses.
 I think that orange kittens are cute. Better: I think orange kittens are cute.
TIP 6
Check for awkward sentence order. Read your work aloud and watch for places where
you have to pause to read it again, or where you run out of breath. One indicates your
sentences structure is awkward. The other indicates your sentences might be too long.
Example of a difficult sentence from a business document:
Believing that a specialized approach and focus for recovering from uninsured
individuals is most effective, we use a professional collection agency whose
expertise has proven successful in the recovery process.
How many times did you have to read it before it made sense?
TIP 7
Try not to bore your reader with overuse of clichés. The expression may have been
clever once, but now, it's overused.
Examples:
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He dropped it like a hot potato.
She turned redder than a beet.
Troy sat quiet as a mouse.
Compiled by Michelle Rayburn for Life Sentence Publishing, Inc. and Aneko Press © 2015
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TIP 8
Watch for mixed metaphors. Comparing life to a box of chocolates and to a roller
coaster in the same section of a chapter is confusing to the reader. Stick to one
metaphor or word picture.
TIP 9
Stay with one tense. If you use past tense in the first part of the paragraph, be sure to
stay in past tense in the rest of the paragraph.
Example of incorrect mixed tense:
The doctor explains the diagnosis to the patients who wanted to know more.
CORRECTED: The doctor explained the diagnosis to the patients who wanted to
know more. OR The doctor explains the diagnosis to the patients who want to
know more.
This next one is not wrong because there is a difference in time frame from how the
children feel about something they did in the past:
The children love their new tree house, which they built themselves.
TIP 10
Look over your formatting for these standards:
 Each paragraph is indented .5
 There are no spaces between paragraphs, except for at a section break.
 Each chapter begins on a new page.
TIP 11
Hyphens, En Dashes, Commas, and Parentheses
We are only using en dashes (space/en dash/space), and eliminating all em dashes.
We use hyphens to indicate a range of verses, e.g. John 1:1-3, and little else.
Our general preference is to use commas when possible, en dashes only when commas
aren't possible, and parentheses only when en dashes don't work.
Examples:
Johnny ran to his mother (who had been gone for the day) to tell her about...
Johnny ran to his mother – who had been gone for the day – to tell her about...
Johnny ran to his mother, who had been gone for the day, to tell her about...
Compiled by Michelle Rayburn for Life Sentence Publishing, Inc. and Aneko Press © 2015
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TIP 12
Footnotes
It’s very important to double-check all footnote references before submitting your final
manuscript. We don’t double-check footnote references because of not having all the
referenced books, and not knowing where to go for a new hyperlink if the existing
doesn’t work anymore. This is important, as the times when we have double-checked
the footnote references, we have almost always found a handful that needed to be
updated/corrected.
Footnotes should be formatted as examples shown below. Regardless of media type,
the format generally is as follows: Author, Title (Publisher), Date. Please use your word
processing program’s footnote or endnote reference feature.
Footnote reference for book (example):
Ruth A. Tucker and Walter Liefeld, Daughters of the Church (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan, 1987), 100-102.
Footnote reference for website (example):
Cal Thomas, “Have We Settled for Caesar?” Is the Religious Right Finished?
Christianity Online: www.christianity.net/ct/current/ (September 21, 1999).
Footnote reference for periodical (example):
James Johnson, “Charles G. Finney and a Theology of Revivalism,” Church History
38 (September 1969): 357.
Compiled by Michelle Rayburn for Life Sentence Publishing, Inc. and Aneko Press © 2015